My New Planner

You might not know it, but there is an entire subculture of Type A, planner people out there. They have instagrams, youtube videos, blogs, even entire websites dedicated to talking about their planners, how they use them, which planners are best, how to color code and catalog their lives and their kids lives.  These people use craft tape, stickers, and multi-colored expensive pens to somehow cajole themselves into having more organized, focused, and subsequently peaceful lives. Well, I am of the opinion that most Type A people enjoy their Type-A-ness to the point that they probably don't actually need expensive planners. Maybe they just really get off on going all Type-A on their planning. The people who really need the planners are those of us on the other side of the spectrum. Those of us who buy planners and then let them sit on the table for a year. Those of us who set goals and forget about them. Those of us who might even pride ourselves on our non-planny-ness. We need a little Type-A in our lives.

So, for this reason I decided to purchase a Day Designer. Google it. They are all the rage with the Type-A planner people; so much that they sell out in a few hours after their release each season. They do two releases each year: December and May. Personally, I like the idea of a May release because by May most New Year's resolutions and plans and have been forgotten and people need a new planner to get them back on track.  What I love about the Day Designer is that it breaks down goal setting to a specific process that makes one feel accountable. The Day Designer also has a place for To-Do Lists, Meal Planning, and Daily Gratitudes!   I have vowed to actually use my Day Designer to track my goals for the next year, write stuff down, track our budget, and bring a little of that Type-A focus to my life.

Playing Dress Up

SnapChat filters give us all a new way to waste our time.

Some Truth To It

Remember those "No Fear" shirts from the 90's?  They were very trendy and featured slogans meant to motivate people by belittling them for feeling pain or fatigue.

I had one with an X-ray of a broken hand on it that read "Pain is Temporary, Glory is Forever".  I didn't really like it or understand it, but bought it because everyone else had one.  I wore it until it had a hole and never thought twice about its claim until about 10 years later.

Fast forward to Thailand in the summer of 2004 and my yoga teacher waxing philosophically about yoga injuries and how they are really just a form of weakness or sickness exiting the body as you deepen your practice.  Noted.

Fast forward to now, and I'm beginning to think there is some truth to this whole idea about pain, sickness and injury.  As I laid in wind removing pose in Bikram class on Tuesday evening, I realized I was pulling my knees closer to my body than ever before because my arms were wrapping around the knees more.  My arms were able to do this because my shoulder was somehow more open after my recent shoulder/neck injury.  Again, I noticed this in camel pose, as I was bending backwards, my shoulder blades were able to point in toward my spine more, which allowed a deeper backward bend.  Was my shoulder injury a result of some weakness or sickness leaving my body? Did the folks at "No Fear" have it right all along?

Awakening

How can you buck the system if you are "the man"?

Today I got to thinking about the world and how I want to be a part of it.  I'm not exactly sure of the answer to that question in total yet.  But what I do know is that I don't want to be "normal".  I don't want to go with the grain. I don't want to be a rule follower.  And, I most definitely do not want to be "the man".

I know, I know...systems and rules are put into place to organize people and  minimize chaos.  Well, I'm all for that.  I don't want people running around killing each other and rioting in the streets.  But I also don't want to be a drone. An empty void of a person passing the time by satiating with a myriad of worldly addictions.

You might be thinking...

How did you start thinking about this?
Are you some kind of an anarchist criminal?
What's wrong with you?

Well, I'll tell you.  It all started on my run yesterday.  I was running and feeling truly satisfied.  And wondering why it was hard for people to find satisfaction. The Stones had it right when they said "I can't get no Satisfaction".   I was thinking about satisfaction and how people (myself included) are so numb to being able to tell whether or not they are actually satisfied.  Why can't we get no?

 I think most of us are this way because society is set in a way in which humans are bombarded with distractions.  We have to distract ourselves from the banality.  This is how we become addicted.  Addicted to food.  Addicted to drugs and alcohol.  Addicted to sex.  Addicted to television.  Addicted to shopping. Addicted to exercise.  Addicted to surrounding yourself with people.  These addictions provide temporary satisfaction which we highly evolved 21st century beings have confused for real happiness, or santosha, contentment, if you will.  Our confusion and displacement of contentment allows us to float along through life, through the systems which were set up to contain us, unaware of our own oblivion.

I don't want to be a slave to the distractions anymore.

I hear people around me saying things like "We're all just finding ways to pass the time".  And maybe that is true.  Maybe we all need to find a delicate balance between our spiritual fulfillment/pursuit of contentment and our worldly distractions because we are only human.  And what about things like art, music and literature?  Couldn't these things be considered "distractions".  I don't know the answer.  But I do know that I can't ever hope to find my way to the surface for a breath of fresh air and reality if I continue to be "the man" participating in a system that condones the exertion of some kind of power over others. A system that is based upon power imbalances, control, and oppression is a system that breeds tendency towards a need for diversion and beguilement.

I want to be awake.

Top 1%

I get the feeling that rather than changing the fact that 1% of Americans hold the wealth by redistributing the wealth in America, most people are more concerned with how they can become that 1%. I find this a little bit concerning because 1) it's not realistic 2) it's not sustainable 3) it's not very humanistic.

I'm not saying that I think we should be communists or anything, but I am saying that this new form of extreme capitalism is very very scary for our future.

But, hey, you don't see me sleeping in a tent on the street.

That's all I'm going to say about that.

Cultural Sensitivity Conundrum

After a recent lawsuit put upon Durham Public Schools, cultural sensitivity and diversity are the buzz words. This is interesting because diversity has been a huge aspect of Durham for as long as I've been living here, which is all my life, folks. Yesterday, I was privy to a very "barely scraping at the surface" cultural sensitivity and diversity training which I am later to turn around and present to my fellow teachers. OK, I can do that.
The take away point from this thing was that we all need to be aware of cultural differences when working with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Misconceptions and communication breakdowns are the status quo when you have teachers who get angry when students don't make eye contact with them while they're chewing them out and students who's cultural beliefs state that making eye contact with an adult is a sign of disrespect. Or students who aren't coming to school because they are at home taking care of younger brothers and sisters which to us seems like a reason to call DSS but in their culture it's just normal. These are just a couple of examples of the many misunderstandings that can and have happened.
So, we're supposed to just be aware and understanding of cultural differences That's great, but what happens when it's part of your culture to be a bigot or a racist? Am I supposed to be sensitive to that? Does it make me wrong to try to change your culture by educating you about cultural sensitivity?
How does merely being aware really change paradigms and practices? I feel like we've been aware for a very long time and things are still the same. So, what to do?

You don't even WANT to know...

Things that you should just NOT do:

1) Search your address on a registered sex offender websites to find out about all the pedophiles and rapists in your area.

2) Search for future addresses on registered sex offender websites to find out about all the pedophiles and rapists in the area.

3) Search for future addresses on local crime mappers.

4) Try to find out if your house is haunted.

5) Ask how traditional Spaghetti al Carbonara is really made.

6) Think about hotel rooms, rental cars, bowling balls, used clothing or anything else that has ever been touched by another.

Moby What?

Ladies and Gentleman,

This weekend I will commence a massive literary undertaking: the reading of what some have referred to as "the greatest American Novel ever written", Moby Dick.

Even if you've never read Moby Dick, you probably know a few things about it, assuming that you are a somewhat culturally literate American. You know it has to do with a mysterious white whale and a crazy sea captain. You know there's some dudes out at sea for a long time. You may even know about those famous lines "Call me Ismael". And, you know it's long.
But who is Ishmael? Why are they searching for this whale? And why is it all so important to American Literature?

When mentioned, most people cringe, wince or groan and follow that with "I never could finish that book"! But what I'm realizing, while doing my homework in preparation for this project, is that most people don't get it and can't finish it because they were forced to read it in high school or college when meaningful life experiences are slim and interests are mostly confined to beer and people of the opposite sex. Most people got bored, bought the cliff notes, and then headed out to a party. We are better able to understand and identify with American classics when we have some background knowledge to bring to the table, or this is at least what I am hoping in my 29 years of sage living.

So, here's to being well-read! Here's to being a part of something bigger than the passing fad! Here's to impressing your friends by understanding literary references! Here's to being 30 in 9 months and hopefully having some life experiences to season my read!

It may take me that long to read the book.